Billionaire's Revenge(52)
“You are the bravest little girl I know”, Sara stated somberly as Carly giggled, pulling it to herself once more. “His name is Teddy”, she declared, as Sara held back the laugh, nodding seriously in agreement. “The best name ever”, she declared, delighting the little girl.
The entrance of the nurse, so jovial and kindly saw all the nerves return once more as they prepared Carly for surgery. She had been allowed to walk as far as the theatre with the little girl, holding her hand, ignoring the looks of those they passed as she still wore the clothes of the previous evening. With a final kiss on her small cheek and a promise to look after Teddy, Sara returned to the room, the nurses allowing her to use the bathroom to shower and change, Sara gaining some relief from feeling clean once more.#p#分页标题#e#
Two hours later she looked in the room, breathing a sigh of relief that the surgery had gone to plan. She was told that the little girl would be kept in post-op until she woke, normally about four hours, giving her time to get some breakfast before returning to Carly’s ward to wait for her return.
At midday she frowned as Beth, the manager of the children’s home Carly had been assigned to appeared, anger filling Sara, before confusion, seeing the woman beside her. The senior social worker, Janice, a kindly and fair woman, looked warily at Sara, Beth looking malevolently smug. “How is Carly?” Janis was the first to talk, smiling softly at the nervous-looking Sara. “She is fine...the operation went well”, she responded, her eyes searching, moving to Beth, her voice angry. “She should have seen a doctor earlier”
Beth glared back, her tone snippy, “I made sure that she was seen”, her mouth curling into a snarl, Sara biting her tongue not to lash out at the woman. “Sara...I am sorry but we have to talk” Janice moved over to stand closer to her. “Please understand that this has been taken out of my hands...but we have found a couple who want to adopt Carly” Sara felt her legs start to shake, her knees weakening as she put out a hand to the wall to steady herself, her eyes staring in stunned shock.
“N...no...y...you can’t. Three months. I have a court order stating that I have three months to get everything in place...things have just been crazy”, her voice pleading as she stared at Janice. The older woman looked uncomfortable, her features softening. “As I said, it was taken out of my hands. I am sorry Sara, I really am” At this Beth stepped forward, her face full of malevolent pleasure. “Carly needs a reliable stable home. You have had over seven weeks to get your life in order Sara, and you are no further forward now than you were then”, her voice dripped with barely contained hatred. “You still have no home, no job” Sara’s eyes flicked between the two women “I have a job. I start at the Garelli Corporation tomorrow”
The derisive sound from the manager made her eyes narrow, “Garelli Corporation? Your boyfriend gave you a job. How can anybody take that seriously, not given the kind of ‘work’ you are doing for him? What happens when he gets bored of you?” Sara gave a gasp, anger filling her at the innuendo in her words, the manager continuing, “With the rumours of your marriage and your chosen lifestyle...well let’s just say that they are not conducive to bringing up a child”
“RUMOURS!” Sara’s voice grew higher as she glared back at the manager, “You are basing Carly’s life and the wishes of her mother on rumours!”
The manager’s eyes were full of a similar anger, “I spoke to the board today and explained everything and they agreed with me that you were and always would be an unfit mother for Carly. They have revoked the three month timeline making it possible for that little girl to be adopted into a loving home”
Sara could feel the tears and panic rise within her as she turned to Janice. “Y...you can’t do that...I just need another few days. I have a job and will have a home by then...I promise I will” Janice looked sympathetically at Sara, her features showing annoyance as Beth gave a dismissive snort. “Really? Well I think that the rumours are all true Sara. Given that you seem to be more interested in chasing after some billionaire playboy than in settling down for Carly then I have to believe that the rumours are not without foundation. My understanding is that you are living at his home, his latest mistress...and the man is well known for his womanising...what kind of stable environment would that be for Carly...being dragged from one boyfriend to the next?” Her voice was superior and gloating, enjoying her chance to put down Sara, this woman who had questioned her care of Carly every step of the way. Janice glared warningly as the manager continued her features full of venom. “You lie down with scum Sara...then you become one of them...”